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Abstract:

Methods, systems and apparatus are disclosed to facilitate ranked network
priority. An example method includes obtaining a bid value associated
with a first wireless device, calculating a rank of the first wireless
device with a plurality of wireless devices based on the bid value,
operating characteristics of the first wireless device, and a scheduling
model, and allocating a first portion of wireless network resources to
the first wireless device based on the rank of the first wireless device.

Claims:

1. A method to allocate wireless network resources, comprising: obtaining
a bid value associated with a first wireless device; calculating a rank
of the first wireless device related to a plurality of wireless devices
based on the bid value, an operating characteristic of the first wireless
device, and a scheduling model; and allocating a portion of wireless
network resources to the first wireless device based on the rank of the
first wireless device.

2.-3. (canceled)

4. A method as described in claim 1, further comprising establishing a
base price for the portion of wireless network resources when a threshold
associated with a wireless core network is exceeded.

5. A method as described in claim 1, wherein allocating the portion of
wireless network resources comprises allocating a quantity of
channelization codes to the first wireless device based on the rank.

6. A method as described in claim 1, wherein allocating the portion of
wireless network resources comprises adjusting a bit rate associated with
the first wireless device based on the rank.

7.-8. (canceled)

9. A method as described in claim 1, wherein obtaining the bid value
further comprises obtaining the bid value from a profile associated with
the first wireless device.

10. A method as described in claim 9, wherein the profile comprises an
automatic bid instruction.

11. A method as described in claim 10, wherein the automatic bid
instruction is selected based on a first geographic area of the first
wireless device.

12. A method as described in claim 11, wherein the automatic bid
instruction comprises a first authorized bid value associated with the
first geographic area, and a second authorized bid value associated with
a second geographic area.

13. A method as described in claim 9, wherein the profile comprises an
automatic bid instruction corresponding to a first time of day.

14. A method as described in claim 13, wherein the automatic bid
instruction comprises a first authorized bid value associated with the
first time of day, and a second authorized bid value associated with a
second time of day.

15. A method as described in claim 1, further comprising calculating a
price of the portion of wireless network resources.

16. A method as described in claim 15, wherein calculating the price for
the portion of network resources is based on at least one of the bid
value, a bid value of a next highest bidder, or the operating
characteristic of the first wireless device.

17-23. (canceled)

24. An apparatus to allocate wireless network resources, comprising: a
bid interface manager to obtain a bid value associated with a first
wireless device; an auction engine to calculate a rank of the first
wireless device with a plurality of wireless devices based on the bid
value, an operating characteristic of the first wireless device, and a
scheduling model; and a bandwidth allocation engine to allocate a portion
of wireless network resources to the first wireless device based on the
rank of the first wireless device.

25-29. (canceled)

30. An apparatus as described in claim 24, wherein the bandwidth
allocation engine is to control a bit rate associated with the first
wireless device via at least one of a nodeB, a radio network controller,
an eNodeB, or a general packet radio service support node.

31. A tangible machine accessible medium having instructions stored
thereon that, when executed, cause a machine to, at least: obtain a bid
value associated with a first wireless device; calculate a rank of the
first wireless device with a plurality of wireless devices based on the
bid value, an operating characteristic of the first wireless device, and
a scheduling model; and allocate a portion of wireless network resources
to the first wireless device based on the rank of the first wireless
device.

32. A tangible machine accessible medium as described in claim 31 having
instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause a machine to
measure at least one of a data capacity, a data rate, an average data
rate, or channel quality associated with a wireless network.

33-35. (canceled)

36. A tangible machine accessible medium as described in claim 31 having
instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause a machine to
control a bit rate associated with the first wireless device via at least
one of a nodeB, an eNodeB, a radio network controller, or a general
packet radio service support node.

37. A tangible machine accessible medium as described in claim 31 having
instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause a machine to
obtain the bid value from a user associated with the first wireless
device.

38-46. (canceled)

47. A tangible machine accessible medium as described in claim 31 having
instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause a machine to apply
the scheduling model based on a round-robin throughput priority policy to
allocate the network resources proportionately between the first wireless
device and a second wireless device.

48. A tangible machine accessible medium as described in claim 31 having
instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause a machine to apply
the scheduling model based on a proportional fair throughput priority
policy to allocate the network resources based on a ratio of a data rate
and an average data rate of the first wireless device.

49-54. (canceled)

Description:

[0002] In recent years, wireless service providers and/or, more generally,
network providers have experienced a dramatic increase in wireless smart
phone sales and a corresponding demand for abundant and fast data
services. In some locations, the volume of mobile data traffic in 2014 is
projected to be forty (40) times that of mobile data traffic consumption
in 2009. Such demand causes and/or will likely cause a strain on the
service providers to satisfy subscriber expectations.

[0003] Network providers employ a four-pronged approach to meet subscriber
demand or curtail subscriber usage of their network(s). A first approach
employed by the network providers includes improving network capabilities
by installing additional network resources, such as additional cell
towers for examples relating to wireless services. A second approach
employed by the network providers includes offloading data servicing to
WiFi hotspots, which may not be under the ownership and/or control of the
network provider. A third approach includes limiting authorized use of
relatively high-bandwidth mobile applications (apps) on some smart phones
unless connected to a WiFi network. Such an approach is not well received
by some subscribers. A fourth approach attempts to shape and/or otherwise
curtail subscriber usage behavior through one or more economic
incentives, such as eliminating unlimited data pricing plans. In some
examples, network providers have implemented a tiered pricing scheme, in
which subscribers are limited to a predetermined amount of data per time
period (e.g., 100 megabytes per month).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004]FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an example wireless network
environment controlled in accordance with the teachings of this
disclosure to facilitate ranked network priority services.

[0009] FIG. 9 illustrates an example processor platform that may execute
the instructions of FIGS. 5-8 to implement any or all of the example
methods, systems, and/or apparatus disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0010] Methods, systems, apparatus, and articles of manufacture are
disclosed, which include obtaining a candidate bid value associated with
a first wireless device, calculating a rank of the first wireless device
with a plurality of wireless devices based on (a) the candidate bid
value, (b) an operating characteristic of the first wireless device, and
(c) a scheduling model, and allocating a first portion of wireless
network resources to the first wireless device based on the rank of the
first wireless device.

[0011] Although network providers, such as wireless service providers,
Internet service providers (ISPs), and/or other providers of
subscriber-based services, apply one or more techniques to curtail
customer data usage behavior(s), such techniques affect an aggregate
amount of data consumed over relatively long periods of time. Congestion,
on the other hand, is a consequence of limited bandwidth (e.g., speed of
delivery) availability that affects a user experience in a relatively
short period of time. For example, a network that currently has a
relatively small number of users (i.e., currently has a low level of
congestion), such as wireless subscribers that currently share a common
cell tower, is able to provide data services without significant delay.
As a result, user actions on their associated wireless devices respond
relatively quickly to one or more requests to send and/or receive data.
For instance, users that browse web pages on their wireless device (e.g.,
smart phone) experience responses in a manner similar to a desktop
web-browsing experience when the shared cell tower currently services a
relatively small number of wireless devices (e.g., currently have a low
congestion level). In other words, cell towers that are not burdened with
a large number of wireless devices may provide faster responses and/or
faster data throughput than cell towers that are overburdened with users.

[0012] As a number of users serviced by the cell tower increases (high
congestion level), each wireless device competes with other wireless
devices of that cell tower for a limited amount of shared resources that
the cell tower can accommodate.

[0013] Some wireless network technologies manage one or more aspects of
subscriber bandwidth by allocating a number of codes, such as
channelization codes in High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) or 3G.
To increase throughput for a particular user/subscriber/wireless device,
an allocated number of channelization codes may be increased for that
user/subscriber/wireless device. In some examples, throughput for a
particular user/subscriber/wireless device is controlled by a core
network, a gateway and/or a server.

[0014] While network providers may employ one or more tiered data plans,
in which subscribers pay a fee for a monthly quantity of data (e.g., 5 Gb
of data per 30-day period), such services are related to a volume of
delivery and do not affect the subscriber's speed of delivery (e.g., a
rate of data access/bandwidth). In effect, a premium subscriber (e.g., a
subscriber paying a fee in a costlier tier) will experience the same
bandwidth benefits and/or limitations as a non-premium subscriber (e.g.,
a subscriber paying a fee in a less expensive tier) at a particular cell
tower because the cell tower allocates bandwidth resources to users
independent of one or more subscription plans.

[0015] Methods, apparatus, systems and/or articles of manufacture
disclosed herein allow network providers and/or service providers to
manage bandwidth congestion. In some examples, methods, apparatus,
systems and/or articles of manufacture disclosed herein, wireless service
providers establish a valuation metric for data services based on a
metric associated with congestion of the network, such as congestion
metrics associated with one or more wireless service nodes, systems,
networks and/or cell towers of a wireless network (e.g., a wireless
telephone network). Valuation metrics may include, but are not limited to
a base price to use one or more wireless services, and/or a price based
on users competing for wireless resources. Additionally, subscribers of
the network provider may provide one or more bids to adjust a level of
bandwidth performance associated with a wireless device. In some
examples, network element(s) (e.g., nodeB device, eNodeB device, radio
network controller, serving general packet radio service (GPRS) support
node (SGSN), universal terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN), evolved
UTRAN (eUTRAN), radio network controller (RNC), etc.) may accept a
subscriber bid having more than a threshold value. When such a bid is
accepted, the network element(s) allocate additional network resources
and/or permit increased data bandwidth throughput for the winning
subscriber, thereby providing improved data bandwidth performance to the
wireless device of the winning subscriber. As described in further detail
below, one or more example bidding techniques employ a Generalized Second
Price (GSP) auction technique to discover prices acceptable to
subscribers for one or more bandwidth services (e.g., premium services,
average services, budget services, etc.), thereby relieving and/or even
minimizing congestion effects for those subscribers willing to pay a
higher price for a corresponding higher network priority.

[0016] In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, an example wireless network
environment 100 includes a first cellular (cell) tower 102, a second cell
tower 104 and a third cell tower 106. Each of the first, second and third
cell towers 102, 104, 106 is communicatively connected to a first tower
interface 108, a second tower interface 110 and a third tower interface
112, respectively. Generally speaking, the first, second and third tower
interface 108, 110, 112 facilitate communication between one or more
wireless devices and a core network 113 associated with a wireless
service provider. The example tower interfaces 108, 110, 112 may include,
but are not limited to 2G wireless technologies, 3G wireless
technologies, 4G wireless technologies and/or combinations thereof.
Example 3G wireless technologies may be employed by a UTRAN tower
interface, such as the example UTRAN 170 shown in FIG. 1. The example
UTRAN 175 tower interface 108 of FIG. 1 includes a nodeB 150 and a radio
network controller 152. In other examples, the example tower interface
108 may include an eUTRAN 172 that includes an eNodeB 174. While the
example tower interface 108 of FIG. 1 illustrates UTRAN 170 and eUTRAN
172 configurations, such configurations may be employed with example
tower interface 110 and/or example tower interface 112, without
limitation. The example core network 113 may be communicatively connected
to a network 114, such as a wireless service provider network, one or
more intranets and/or the Internet. Connection may include one or more
firewalls (not shown). The example core network 113 may include any
number of network elements including those related to any type of
wireless technology such as, for example, 2G, 3G, 4G, LTE, etc. The
example core network 113 of FIG. 1 may include 3G network component(s)
including, but not limited to, a gateway general packet radio service
support node (GGSN) 156, and/or a serving general packet radio service
support nodes (SGSNs) 154. In other examples, the core network 113 may
include 4G wireless network technologies and corresponding elements
including, but not limited to, a mobility management entity (MME) 176, a
packet data network (PDN) gateway 178, a serving gateway (SGW) 180 and/or
a policy charging and rules function (PCRF) 182. In some examples, one or
more of the first, second and/or tower interfaces 108, 110, 112
communicatively connect to the example network 114 prior to connecting
with the example core network 113. The example core network 113 of FIG. 1
may include one or more additional and/or alternate network elements
including, but not limited to, an internal backbone network 184,
multi-service proxies, intermediate network elements, and/or routers.
Each of the first, second and/or third cell towers 102, 104, 106
facilitates wireless communication services for a finite geographic
region within which the cell towers 102, 104, 106 and associated radio(s)
therein may establish a first, second and/or third data communication
cell area 116, 118, 120, respectively.

[0017] The example first, second and/or third data communication cell
areas 116, 118, 120 of FIG. 1 may include any number of wireless devices
that, when communicating with a cell tower, share communication resources
of the cell tower and its associated tower interface. In the illustrated
example of FIG. 1, the first data communication cell area 116 includes
one wireless device 122, the second data communication cell area 118
includes three (3) wireless devices 124a-c, and the third data
communication cell area 120 includes six (6) wireless devices 126a-f.
Generally speaking, a tower interface and its associated cell tower may
accommodate far greater numbers of wireless devices than shown in the
illustrated example of FIG. 1. However, for purposes of explanation, and
not limitation, a quantity of six (6) wireless devices in the example
third data communication cell area 120 is deemed to overload and/or
otherwise stress the example third cell tower 106 and the associated
third tower interface 112. As used herein, an overloaded cell tower
results in one or more connected wireless devices experiencing low
bandwidth due to competition from other wireless devices sharing the
combined communication resources of the cell tower and its associated
tower interface. On the other hand, for purposes of explanation, and not
limitation, a quantity of one wireless device in the example first data
communication cell area 116, and a quantity of three (3) wireless devices
in the example second data communication cell area 118 are deemed to
allow satisfactory bandwidth rate(s) for all users.

[0019] Continuing with the aforementioned HSDPA example, data throughput
for any particular user/subscriber may be increased via code allocation
and/or bandwidth throttling by one or more network elements, such as the
example nodeBs 150 and/or the example GGSN 156. The packet scheduler of
the example nodeB (e.g., the first, second, and/or third tower interface
108, 110, 112) and/or GGSN 156 allocates resources to one or more
users/subscribers (e.g., wireless device(s) in a particular geographic
area served by or corresponding tower interface and/or associated cell
tower) in a manner that promotes fairness (e.g., equal network access)
among the individual users while attempting to maintain high overall
throughput for all users. Example scheduling policies employed by network
devices (e.g., nodeBs 150, GGSNs 156, eNodeBs 174, etc.) include round
robin (RR) policies, max throughput (MT) policies and proportional fair
(PF) policies. The example RR policy causes the network element(s) to
prioritize all user devices (e.g., wireless telephones) equally,
regardless of a channel quality associated with that wireless device. For
example, devices that are relatively far away from a cell tower are
afforded the same priority as devices that are relatively close to the
cell tower. Generally speaking, the RR policy sacrifices data throughput
while promoting fairness for each of the devices within communication
range of the cell tower and its associated network element(s) (e.g.,
nodeBs 150, eNodeBs 174, RNCs 152, etc.).

[0020] The example MT policy causes the network element(s) to prioritize
resource allocation based on a maximum throughput (e.g., bit rate). As a
result, the example MT policy results in a disadvantage for devices near
an edge of a cell tower boundary because, in part, channel qualities
associated with the device are typically inferior when compared to
channel qualities associated with devices that are physically closer to
the cell tower. Additionally, the example MT policy provides a relatively
good throughput at the expense of fairness to those devices having
inferior channel qualities due to distance and/or interference (e.g.,
building materials).

[0021] The example PF policy causes the network element(s) to prioritize
resource allocation based on a ratio of device instantaneous throughput
of data and device average throughput of data. In effect, the example PF
policy weighs the current achievable bit rate by the average rate
received by that device. The average rate may be calculated over any time
period as, for example, a moving average. Additionally, the example PF
policy provides a balance between maximizing system throughput and
fairness.

[0022] Example methods, apparatus, systems and/or articles of manufacture
disclosed herein modify network element polic(ies) (e.g., at the nodeB,
at the eNodeB, at the GGSN, etc.) by considering, in part, bids submitted
by users/subscribers having connectivity to a cell tower when determining
how to allocate bandwidth among user devices. Additionally or
alternatively, example methods, apparatus, systems and/or articles of
manufacture disclosed herein modify data rates allocated to one or more
wireless devices associated with the users/subscribers based on the
accepted bids. Allocation of network element (e.g., nodeB) channel
resources can be considered as occurring sequentially (e.g., a sequence
of 2 ms frames in 3G networks). However, service providers typically have
no prior knowledge of an amount of money users are willing to pay for
privileged access to the network element channel resources and/or a data
rate. Additionally, while bidding facilitates an ability to identify a
value for data rate resources, expecting a user to submit a bid for each
instance of a data frame privilege (e.g., a channel resource) every 2 ms
is impractical. As such, example methods, apparatus, systems and/or
articles of manufacture disclosed herein treat the wireless sequential
frame frequency and/or frame allocation as a multi-unit differentiated
product (MUDP) that involve resource allocation decisions across a number
of rounds that are larger than their lowest (most granular) resolution
(e.g., 2 ms). For example, an auction of MUDP resources may establish a
single bid to be applied on behalf of the user for any number of 3G frame
sequences, with one or more options to change the bid price when desired.
In other examples, data rate control and/or allocation may be realized by
way of data throttling via core network element control. For example,
data rate control may be guided by policy enforcement related to a
corresponding communication area (e.g., 116, 118, 120), based on bid
values, based on wireless device technology types (e.g., 2G devices, 3G
devices, 4G devices, LTE devices, etc.) and/or capabilities of the
wireless devices. In some examples, if the wireless device lacks a
capability to process and/or otherwise handle a particular data rate, one
or more services may be throttled and/or otherwise tailored when provided
to that wireless device.

[0023] The MUDP resource auction of the illustrated example is facilitated
via, for example, a Generalized Second Price (GSP) auction-based
mechanism to discover acceptable prices from the network users for one or
more available services and/or network privileges. In part, the GSP
auction allows the highest bidder to pay an amount equal to the bid
submitted by a next highest bidder. In the illustrated example, the
actual price charged to the user never exceeds the maximum price
specified in the bid. The prices for privileged network access are
revealed by consumer data (actual consumer bids as opposed to marketing
guesswork) in the example of FIG. 1 network providers can offer a
differentiated bandwidth service in real-time between the cell tower and
each user device connected thereto. Employing GSP auctions also allows
for managing geographic congestion disparity, such as the effects of
congestion that change when a user travels from a rural area to an urban
area. For example, prices based on congestion issues are likely different
in less populated areas (e.g., West Lafayette, Ind.) than they are in
more populated areas (e.g., Manhattan, N.Y.). For example, population
densities near cell towers in Manhattan are typically substantially
greater than population densities in West Lafayette, thereby resulting in
congestion issues in Manhattan that are rare or non-existent in West
Lafayette.

[0024] In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, a first core resource manager
128a, a second core resource manager 128b and a third core resource
manager 128c of the core network 113 are communicatively connected to
and/or otherwise associated with the first tower interface 108, the
second tower interface 110 and the third tower interface 112,
respectively. In operation, the example core resource managers 128a-c
measure an indication of bandwidth activity rate (e.g., congestion)
associated with a communication cell area (e.g., the first communication
cell area 116, the second communication cell area 118, or the third
communication cell area 120) and/or measure an indication of bandwidth
activity rate associated with one or more elements of the core 113, and
publish the same to one or more wireless devices within range of a
corresponding tower interface 108, 110, 112. For example, the core
resource manager 128a associated with the first data communication cell
area 116 only includes a small number of wireless devices 122 and, as a
result, does not measure an activity indicative of heavy congestion. On
the other hand, the core resource manager 128c associated with the third
data communication cell area 120 includes many wireless devices 126a-f
and, as a result, measures an activity rate indicative of heavier
congestion as compared to the first data communication cell area 116. The
example indication of congestion may include a value in megabits per
second (Mb/s) and one or more degrees of congestion may be identified in
view of threshold values with which to compare the measured bandwidth
and/or data rate. In some examples, a measured data rate is published to
subscribers/users within range of the cell tower. If the measured data
rate exceeds one or more threshold values, then the published rate is
presented to the subscribers/users as a value and/or a graphical image on
their mobile device. In other examples, an indication of price is
published to one or more wireless devices that is derived from existing
bid values and/or existing bandwidth capacity values associated with
capabilities of the core resource managers 128a-c.

[0025] Briefly turning to FIG. 2, an example wireless device 200 is
illustrated with a display 202, and a user interface area 204 (e.g.,
keypad, trackpad, menu button(s), touchscreen, etc.). While the
illustrated example of FIG. 2 includes a separate display 202 and user
interface area 204, example wireless devices may include any
configuration and/or variation of display and user interface area, such
as, for example, a user interface area that includes one or more virtual
buttons, virtual keyboard buttons, etc., that may be touch activated as
in an iPhone or other device. The example display 202 of FIG. 2 includes
a status bar 206, which may inform a user of one or more status values
such as, but not limited to time, date, temperature, WiFi signal
availability, WiFi signal strength, and/or wireless provider signal
strength 208. Additionally, the example status bar 206 of FIG. 2 includes
a price indicator 210, and a bandwidth tier indicator 212.

[0026] In the illustrated example of FIG. 2, the price indicator 210 is a
monetary value to represent a cost of joining and/or otherwise
participating at a higher and/or lower tier of service. While the
illustrated example of FIG. 2 includes a dollar sign ($), the price
indicator 210 may include one or more cost values for corresponding tier
services. As described above, the example core resource managers 128a-c
measure activity values (e.g., levels) and, depending on whether the
values exceed one or more thresholds, and/or depending on one or more
current bids from other users, and/or depending on a base price to
receive one or more services associated with a tier level, a
corresponding price indicator 210 may be presented in the example status
bar 206.

[0027] In the illustrated example of FIG. 2, the bandwidth tier indicator
212 informs a user of a type of bandwidth service enabled on the wireless
device. For example, a first tier may represent a lowest level of
priority for data communications for the user/subscriber, a fourth tier
may represent a highest level of priority for data communications, and
one or more gradients of intermediate tier levels may reside therebetween
(e.g., tier 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, etc.). In some examples, the bandwidth tier
indicator 212 may flash, change color and/or the wireless device may beep
and/or vibrate when an opportunity to increase a tier plan in an effort
to secure a higher data processing priority for the wireless device.

[0028] Alternate example bandwidth tier indicators 216a-d may correspond
to indicator variations. In some examples, the user/subscriber may invoke
a bid via a button press of the example wireless device 200, as described
in further detail below. In the example of FIG. 2, example app indicator
218 corresponds to a bidding application that allows the user/subscriber
to enter a bid value amount in an effort to increase a current tier
status, decrease a current tier status and/or otherwise manage one or
more bids. In the event that the entered bid amount is sufficient to
raise a current tier status, the example bandwidth tier indicator 212 may
change an appearance, such as from the alternate example indicator 216a
to the example indicator(s) 216b-d. The bidding application of the
illustrated example executes on the wireless device 200 and communicates
with the example core resource manager(s) 128a-c via a cell tower.

[0029] In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, an example auction manager
130 is communicatively connected to the core network 113, which enables
communicative access from the auction manager 130 to one or more core
resource manager(s) 128a-c, to/from the network(s) 114, and/or to/from
one or more wireless devices 122, 124a-c, 126a-f. In operation, the
example auction manager 130 establishes new subscriber profiles and/or
propagates subscriber profile information throughout the example wireless
network environment 100. Profile information may include, but is not
limited to, bidding preferences, geographic bidding preferences, payment
information, etc. For example, a subscriber profile may indicate that an
automatic bid of a predetermined amount may be presented in response to a
tier status decrease (e.g., a tier status decrease from level 4 to level
3). Additionally, the example subscriber profile may indicate that, in
the event of a tier level drop, automatic bids in a first predefined
amount (e.g., $3.50) are authorized when in a first geographic location
(e.g., Manhattan), and automatic bids in a second predefined amount
(e.g., $1.50) are authorized when in a second geographic location (e.g.,
West Lafayette, Ind.). In still other examples, the example subscriber
profile may indicate that an automatic bid of a predetermined amount may
be implemented based on a time of day and/or a time of day for one or
more geographic locations.

[0030]FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of an example implementation of
any or all of the core resource manager(s) 128a-c of FIG. 1. In the
illustrated example of FIG. 3, the core resource manager 128a-c includes
a bandwidth monitor 302, a bandwidth publisher 304, a connection request
monitor 306 and a subscriber query engine 308. The example subscriber
query engine 308 may be communicatively connected to the core network
113, which may further enable communication with the example auction
manager 130, a home location register (HLR) and/or a visitor location
register (VLR) 310. Additionally, in the illustrated example of FIG. 3,
the core resource manager 128a-c includes a bid interface manager 312, a
local subscriber storage 314, a bandwidth allocation engine 316, and an
auction engine 318. Some examples include means for monitoring bandwidth,
means for publishing bandwidth information, means for monitoring
connection request(s), means for managing subscriber queries, means for
managing bids, means for allocating bandwidth, means for facilitating
auction types, and/or means for managing auction preferences. In the
illustrated example of FIG. 3, the means for monitoring bandwidth is the
example bandwidth monitor 302, means for publishing bandwidth information
is the example bandwidth publisher 304, means for monitoring connection
request(s) is the example connection request monitor 306, means for
managing subscriber queries is the example subscriber query engine 308,
means for managing bids is the example bid interface manager 312, means
for allocating bandwidth is the example bandwidth allocation engine 316,
means for facilitating auction types is the example auction engine 318,
and means for managing auction preferences is the example auction manager
130. Each of the means for monitoring bandwidth, means for publishing
bandwidth information, means for monitoring connection request(s), means
for managing subscriber queries, means for managing bids, means for
allocating bandwidth, means for facilitating auction types, and/or means
for managing auction preferences may be implemented by the processor P100
of FIG. 9 executing the instructions of FIGS. 5-8.

[0031] In operation, the example core resource manager 128a-c employs the
example bandwidth monitor 302 to measure a bandwidth rate (e.g.,
Mb/second) of the corresponding tower interface, the corresponding core
resource manager, and/or data communication cell area with which the core
resource manager is associated. For example, the bandwidth monitor 302 of
the core resource manager 128c measures the rate of incoming and/or
outgoing data processed by a corresponding tower interface 108, 110, 112
to determine a degree of utilization. Depending on one or more bandwidth
capabilities of the tower interface 108, 110, 112, one or more thresholds
of bandwidth may be monitored to identify circumstances indicative of
congestion. As used herein, congestion occurs when an amount of data
processed by a tower interface and/or its associated core network
elements (e.g., nodeBs, eNodeBs, radio network controllers (RNCs), SGSNs,
SGWs, etc.) is near or at a maximum value of capability.

[0032] The example bandwidth publisher 304 of FIG. 3 publishes and/or
otherwise communicates an indication of a degree of congestion, current
tier level and/or price per tier opportunities to one or more wireless
devices nearby. For example, the bandwidth publisher 304 of the first
core resource manager 128a publishes an indication of the degree of
congestion associated with the first tower 102 to the wireless device 122
in the first data communication cell area 116, the bandwidth publisher
304 of the second core resource manager 128b publishes an indication of
the degree of congestion associated with the second tower 104 to the
wireless devices 124a-c in the second data communication cell area 118,
and the bandwidth publisher of the third tower resource manager 128c
publishes the indication of the degree of congestion associated with the
third tower 106 to the wireless devices 126a-f in the third data
communication cell area 120. The indication of the degree of congestion
may be published by the example bandwidth publisher 304 as a value
illustrating a quantity of data per unit of time, an alphanumeric
indicator(s), and/or a graphic. In some examples, one or more threshold
data rates cause the bandwidth publisher 304 to generate a green icon
(e.g., not congested), yellow icon (e.g., moderately congested) or red
icon (e.g., substantially congested) based on whether one or more
threshold(s) are exceeded or not exceeded. In other examples, the
bandwidth publisher 304 includes a web server to publish the indication
of the degree of congestion associated with the tower, thereby allowing
one or more users to access information in a web-based manner.

[0033] The example connection request monitor 306 of the core resource
managers 128a-c of FIG. 3 determines whether one or more wireless devices
makes an attempt to connect to a tower. Requests to connect to the tower
may include, but are not limited to, one or more users attempting to
place a call via a wireless device, one or more users attempting to
utilize data services with their wireless device, and/or one or more
wireless devices registering with the tower (e.g., during device
power-on, during cell tower device hand-off, etc.). If one or more
wireless devices do not make an attempt to connect to a tower, the
example core resource manager(s) 128a-c continue to measure data rates.
In the event a connection attempt is made, the example subscriber query
engine 308 determines whether the connection request is associated with a
subscriber. For example, a subscriber may have a profile to indicate, in
part, data connection privileges, preferred data connection rate(s)
and/or default bidding instructions. One or more profiles may be stored
in the example local subscriber storage 314, which may be communicatively
connected to the example subscriber query engine 308. In some examples,
the subscriber query engine 308 is communicatively connected to the
network 114, and accesses an HLR/VLR 310 and/or the auction manager 130,
which may contain one or more profiles. On the other hand,
non-subscribers attempting to connect to the tower may be provided with
an opportunity to provide one or more bids in an effort to receive data
services having greater or lesser capabilities.

[0034] In the event the connection attempt is associated with a subscriber
having a profile, the example bandwidth allocation engine 316 of FIG. 3
allocates bandwidth privileges per the profile parameter(s). The profile
parameter(s) may indicate a preferred tier level of service with which
the subscriber should be associated. On the other hand, in the event the
connection attempt is associated with a subscriber without a profile, the
example bid interface manager 312 provides the subscriber with one or
more opportunities to select a preferred tier level of service. One or
more preferred tier level of service selection(s) by the subscriber
and/or identified by a profile may be processed by the example bandwidth
allocation engine 316 to allocate a number of codes (e.g., HSDPA
channelization codes) in a manner proportionate to a tier level of
service associated with the user or subscriber. In other examples, the
bandwidth allocation engine 316 controls one or more elements of the core
network 113 to throttle and/or otherwise control a data rate associated
with a wireless device associated with the subscriber or non-subscriber.
For example, the bandwidth allocation engine 216 may cause and/or
otherwise control the example RNC 152 (for UTRANs) or the example eNodeB
174 (for eUTRANs) to allow a certain bit rate through a corresponding
network element (e.g., nodeB, RNC, etc.) to the wireless device.

[0035] In the event that a bid is received by the example auction engine
318 from a subscriber or a non-subscriber (e.g., a bid received to
increase a tier level of service in a particular geographic location),
the example auction engine 318 ranks each of the existing users of the
tower. User and/or device ranking provides, in part, an indication of
value each user places on receiving data services facilitated by the
tower area capability. For example, higher ranked users spend more money
in return for a tier level of service that provides a greater number of
channelization codes and/or controlled bit rate(s) than lower ranked
subscribers, thereby resulting in faster data service performance. On the
other hand, lower ranked users spend less money and, as a result, are not
entitled to the same tier level of service and/or corresponding data
service performance abilities as higher paying users. As described in
further detail below, in the event a bid entered by a user/subscriber is
successful, then the user/subscriber's tier level of service increases
and the example bandwidth allocation engine 316 allocates a corresponding
increased number of channels and/or causes a data rate to increase via
one or more elements of the core network 113. On the other hand, if the
bid entered by a user/subscriber is too low to increase the current tier
level of service (e.g., when compared to the existing and/or competing
users of the tower), then the example bandwidth allocation engine 316
refrains from allocating additional channels to and/or increasing a data
rate of that user/subscriber.

[0036]FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of an example implementation of
the auction manager 130 of FIG. 1. In the illustrated example of FIG. 4,
the auction manager 130 includes a subscriber interface 402, a profile
manager 404, a profile store 406 and a core resource interface 408. Some
examples include means for interfacing a subscriber, means for managing a
subscriber profile and/or means for interfacing core resources. In the
illustrated example of FIG. 4, the means for interfacing a subscriber is
the example subscriber interface 402, the means for managing a subscriber
profile is the example profile manager 404, and the means for interfacing
core resources is the example core resource interface 408. Each of the
means for interfacing a subscriber, means for managing a subscriber
profile and/or means for interfacing core resources may be implemented by
the processor P100 of FIG. 9 executing the instructions of FIGS. 5-8. In
operation, the example subscriber interface 402 provides one or more user
interfaces and/or graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for an existing
subscriber and/or user(s) that do not yet have subscriber status. GUIs
may be facilitated by, for example, a web server accessible by personal
computers and/or wireless devices (e.g., wireless telephones). Wireless
service subscribers associated with a particular wireless service
provider may have a subscriber status for one or more services to
facilitate ranked network priority by virtue of their service contract.
On the other hand, users may establish an account and/or develop a
profile so that ranked network priority services can be purchased, bid
and/or otherwise used when the user is within communication range of a
tower 102, 104, 106 and/or a corresponding tower interface 108, 110, 112.
As a result, some or all users are free to jump from service provider to
service provider based on winning/losing bids.

[0037] The example profile manager 404 of FIG. 4 includes one or more
forms, templates and/or questions to be presented to a user that
facilitate profile development. For example, the profile manager 404 of
FIG. 4 presents the user with choices for incremental bid increase
amounts (e.g., in a currency of interest, such as a dollar, a Euro, etc.)
in the event an initial bid is unsuccessful due to congested conditions.
In another example, the profile manager 404 of FIG. 4 presents the user
with a bid price cap selection. In effect, if one or more repeated
incremental bid increases continue, the profile may instruct the example
core resource manager 128a-c to stop accepting bids when an upper bid
threshold is reached. Details related to the one or more profiles
developed by the example profile manager 404 may be stored in the example
profile store 406. Additionally, the example core resource interface 408
of FIG. 4 propagates profile information to the example wireless network
environment 100. For example, when a subscriber having a profile travels
from one communication cell area to another communication cell area, the
core resource interface 408 of the illustrated example transfers and/or
otherwise provides profile information stored in the profile store 406 to
an associated core resource manager 128a-c. In other examples, the core
resource interface 408 provides subscriber profile information to one or
more HLR and/or VLR elements of a wireless network, such as the example
HLR/VLR 310.

[0038] While an example manner of implementing the example core resource
manager(s) 128a-c and the example auction manager 130 have been
illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, one or more of the elements, processes and/or
devices illustrated in FIGS. 1-4 may be combined, divided, re-arranged,
omitted, eliminated and/or implemented in any other way. Further, the
example core resource manager(s) 128a-c, the example auction manager 130,
the example bandwidth monitor 302, the example bandwidth publisher 304,
the example connection request monitor 306, the example subscriber query
engine 308, the example bid interface manager 312, the example local
subscriber store 314, the example bandwidth allocation engine 316, the
example auction engine 318, the example subscriber interface 402, the
example profile manager 404, the example profile store 406 and/or the
example core resource interface 408 of FIGS. 1-4 could be implemented by
one or more circuit(s), programmable processor(s), application specific
integrated circuit(s) (ASIC(s)), programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s))
and/or field programmable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)), etc. When any of the
apparatus or system claims of this patent are read to cover a purely
software and/or firmware implementation, at least one of the example
auction manager 130, the example bandwidth monitor 302, the example
bandwidth publisher 304, the example connection request monitor 306, the
example subscriber query engine 308, the example bid interface manager
312, the example local subscriber store 314, the example bandwidth
allocation engine 316, the example auction engine 318, the example
subscriber interface 402, the example profile manager 404, the example
profile store 406 and/or the example core resource interface 408 of FIGS.
1-4 are hereby expressly defined to include a tangible computer readable
medium such as a memory, DVD, CD, etc. storing the software and/or
firmware. Further still, the example wireless network environment 100 of
FIG. 1 may include one or more elements, processes and/or devices in
addition to, or instead of, those illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, and/or may
include more than one of any or all of the illustrated elements,
processes and devices.

[0039] Flowcharts representative of example machine readable instructions
for implementing the wireless network environment 100 of FIG. 1, any of
the example core resource manager(s) 128a-c of FIGS. 1 and 3, and/or the
example auction manager 130 of FIGS. 1 and 4 are shown in FIGS. 5-8. In
these examples, the machine readable instructions comprise a program for
execution by a processor such as the processor P105 shown in the example
computer P100 discussed below in connection with FIG. 9. The program may
be embodied in software stored on a tangible computer readable medium
such as a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, a hard drive, a digital versatile disk
(DVD), or a memory associated with the processor P105, but the entire
program and/or parts thereof could alternatively be executed by a device
other than the processor P105 and/or embodied in firmware or dedicated
hardware. Further, although the example program is described with
reference to the flowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 5-8, many other methods
of implementing the example wireless network environment 100 and/or the
example core resource manager(s) 128a-c and/or the example auction
manager 130 may alternatively be used. For example, the order of
execution of the blocks may be changed, and/or some of the blocks
described may be changed, eliminated, or combined.

[0040] As mentioned above, the example processes of FIGS. 5-8 may be
implemented using coded instructions (e.g., computer readable
instructions) stored on a tangible computer readable medium such as a
hard disk drive, a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a compact disk
(CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a cache, a random-access memory
(RAM) and/or any other storage media in which information is stored for
any duration (e.g., for extended time periods, permanently, brief
instances, for temporarily buffering, and/or for caching of the
information). As used herein, the term tangible computer readable medium
is expressly defined to include any type of computer readable storage and
to exclude propagating signals. Additionally or alternatively, the
example processes of FIGS. 5-8 may be implemented using coded
instructions (e.g., computer readable instructions) stored on a
non-transitory computer readable medium such as a hard disk drive, a
flash memory, a read-only memory, a compact disk, a digital versatile
disk, a cache, a random-access memory and/or any other storage media in
which information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extended time
periods, permanently, brief instances, for temporarily buffering, and/or
for caching of the information). As used herein, the term non-transitory
computer readable medium is expressly defined to include any type of
computer readable medium and to exclude propagating signals.

[0041] The program 500 of FIG. 5 begins at block 502 where the example
bandwidth monitor 302 measures a bandwidth rate associated with a
communication cell area, such as the example communication cell areas
116, 118, 120 of FIG. 1. As described above, a bandwidth rate may be
measured to yield a value indicative of an amount of data transfer (e.g.,
through the cell tower) per unit of time, such as bits/second,
kilobits/second (Kb/s), megabits/second (Mb/s), etc. To keep
users/subscribers apprised of a current rate associated with the
communication cell area with which they are associated, the example
bandwidth publisher 304 publishes and/or otherwise makes available one or
more values associated with the measured bandwidth, current tier status
and/or current price per tier (block 504). The example bandwidth
publisher 304 may transmit information indicative of the bandwidth rate
to one or more wireless devices within the communication range of the
data communication cell area and/or may employ a web server to make such
information accessible via web-enabled devices. As described above, when
the example bandwidth publisher 304 transmits, broadcasts and/or
otherwise publishes information indicative of bandwidth to the one or
more wireless devices, a corresponding price indicator 210 may appear on
one or more wireless devices within the communication range of the area.
One or more thresholds may be used to augment the price indicator 210 to
illustrate a current cost associated with using corresponding tier
services of a core resource manager 128a-c. In other examples, the
example bandwidth monitor may provide one or more indications of
bandwidth congestion. Degrees of congestion may be shown on the example
status bar 206 such as, a red congestion indicator indicative of an
amount of data traffic per unit of time that is at or near a maximum
capacity for the tower and/or tower equipment (e.g., nodeB devices, RNCs,
eNodeBs, etc.). In another example, a green congestion indicator may be
shown in the status bar 206 that is generally indicative of an amount of
data traffic per unit of time that is at or near a low-end threshold of
capacity for which the tower can accommodate.

[0042] The example connection request monitor 306 detects and/or otherwise
identifies a connection request from a wireless device (block 506). If no
connection request occurs (block 506), then the example core resource
manager 128a-c continues to measure a bandwidth, verify a current tier
status and/or determine a congestion status on a periodic, aperiodic,
scheduled and/or manual basis (block 502). On the other hand, in the
event the example connection request monitor 306 detects and/or otherwise
identifies a connection request from a wireless device (block 506), then
the example subscriber query engine 308 identifies whether the connection
request originates from a subscriber associated with the service provider
that owns and/or otherwise manages the data communication cell area
(block 508). At least one reason for determining whether the connection
request is associated with a wireless subscriber includes one or more
price breaks and/or data throughput access privileges afforded to
wireless subscribers. In some examples, wireless subscribers enjoy a
financial benefit when using similarly owned/operated wireless resources
(e.g., cell towers, network resources, tower interfaces, etc.), while
non-subscribers may require one or more additional fees to enjoy a
similar bandwidth benefit.

[0043] In the event the request is associated with a wireless subscriber,
then the example subscriber query engine 308 may search the example local
subscriber store 314 for an indication of whether the subscriber has an
associated priority profile (block 510). Additionally, the example
subscriber query engine 308 may perform one or more queries via the
network 114 to the profile store 406 of the example auction manager 130
and/or query one or more HLR/VLRs 310 of the network 100 to determine
whether the subscriber has an associated priority profile. If so, then
the example bandwidth allocation engine 316 allocates bandwidth
privileges per one or more instructions and/or parameters of the
subscriber profile (block 512). On the other hand, if the subscriber does
not have an associated profile (block 510), then the example bid
interface manager 312 provides a bandwidth selection option to facilitate
default network priority services, or to configure specific network
priority services (block 514).

[0044] In some examples, default network priority services are controlled
by and/or otherwise dictated by a local policy associated with the
example data communication cell area. For example, in rural areas the
default network priority services attempt to provide a subscriber with
scheduling options based on equality/access among all users. For
instance, a round robin (RR) scheduling technique implemented by the
example core resource manager 128a-c, a tower interface and/or a network
element (e.g., nodeB, eNodeB, etc.) prioritizes all wireless devices
equally. The RR scheduling emphasizes fairness (e.g., equal network
accessibility) to all wireless devices over one or more considerations
related to channel qualities. As such, even when one wireless device has
particularly poor channel qualities due to, for example, residing near
the edge of the data communication cell area, that wireless device will
be given the same priority as another wireless device having superior
channel qualities.

[0045] In other examples, a maximum throughput (MT) scheduling technique
is employed as the default network priority. The example MT scheduling
technique allocates resources in a manner that prioritizes throughput at
the expense of fairness to all wireless devices. In the event a first
wireless device has particularly poor channel characteristics due to, for
example, residing near the edge of the data communication cell area, then
resources for that first wireless device are reallocated to one or more
other wireless devices capable of handling a greater amount of data
throughput.

[0046] In still other examples, a proportional fair (PF) scheduling
technique is employed as the default network priority. The example PF
scheduling technique allocates resources based on a ratio of the
instantaneous throughput of data for a wireless device, and a measured
average of throughput for that wireless device. In other words, an
average rate is computed over a time period as a moving average to
provide a balance between maximizing system throughput and fairness.

[0047] Although the default network priority techniques described above
include RR, MT and/or PF, such default scheduling techniques are not
limited thereto. For example, one or more hybrid resource allocation
techniques may be employed, such as implementing the MT scheduling
technique until the tower reaches a threshold capacity, and then
allocating resources in a different manner as a number of users and their
associated wireless devices increase. In other examples, the core
resource managers 128a-c reserve 25% of their available bandwidth on a
first-come, first-served basis, and allocate 75% of their capable
bandwidth in a manner that assigns network priority based on bid rank
values. In still other examples, scheduling techniques may employ one or
more of the aforementioned RR, MT and/or PF techniques in addition to
bandwidth and/or data rate throttling. For instance, the tower interfaces
108, 110, 112, the core resource managers 128a-c and/or one or more
elements of the core network 113 may constrain or permit varying data
rates to one or more wireless devices. The degree of data rate constraint
or permission may be based on bid value(s) received from the user of the
wireless devices, operating characteristics of the wireless device, the
scheduling model and/or any combination thereof.

[0048] In the illustrated example of FIG. 5, in the event a default
network priority service is selected (block 516), the example bandwidth
allocation engine 316 allocates resources based on one or more default
scheduling technique(s) (block 518). On the other hand, in the event
network priority services are selected (block 516), then the example core
resource manager 128a-c publishes tier pricing information (block 519)
and the auction engine 318 processes one or more bids and allocates
resources based on the bids, wireless device operating characteristic(s)
and/or scheduling model(s) operating within the corresponding
communication cell area 116, 118, 120 (block 520), as described in
further detail below.

[0049] In the event that the example subscriber query engine 308
identifies that the connection request originates from a user
unaffiliated with the wireless service provider that owns and/or
otherwise manages the core network 113, the corresponding core resource
manager 128a-c and/or the corresponding tower interface 108, 110, 112
(block 508), then the example bid interface manager 312 of the core
resource manager 128a-c determines whether users unaffiliated with the
wireless service providers (foreign users) may be afforded an opportunity
to participate in ranked network priority services (block 522). In some
examples, a wireless service provider may distinguish their services
based on the ability to offer their own subscribers the opportunity for
faster and/or otherwise premium user experiences by way of the ranked
network priority bidding process disclosed herein. In such examples, the
wireless service provider may implement a policy within the communication
cell area (e.g., 116, 118, 120) that prohibits foreign and/or free agent
users from participating in one or more bids in an effort to obtain
prioritized network services. In other examples, the wireless service
provider may implement a policy that allows all users (both subscribers,
foreign and/or free agent users) one or more opportunities to participate
in one or more bids in an effort to obtain prioritized network services.
In still other examples, the wireless service provider may implement a
hybrid policy that allows all users such opportunities until a
communication cell area bandwidth capacity threshold(s) is reached, after
which only subscribers may continue to participate.

[0050] In the event the user is not allowed to participate (block 522),
then the example bandwidth allocation engine 316 allocates bandwidth to
the corresponding wireless device 200 based on one or more local policies
associated with the communication cell area (block 524). On the other
hand, in the event that the user is entitled to participate in ranked
network priority services (block 522), then the example auction engine
318 sends and/or otherwise transmits information related to
non-subscriber pricing to the requesting wireless device 200 (block 526).
Additionally, tier price information may be published on-line and/or
pushed to one or more wireless devices within the communication cell area
(block 519). For example, while both subscribers and foreign users may be
entitled to utilize ranked network priority services, foreign users may
have a price structure different than that of subscribers. One or more
bids received from the wireless device 200 are processed by the example
auction engine 318 to determine a corresponding resource allocation
(block 520), as described below.

[0051] In the illustrated example of FIG. 6, the example auction engine
318 processes one or more bids and allocates resources (block 520). The
example auction engine 318 ranks all users of the corresponding
communication cell area (e.g., 116, 118, 120) based on their respective
bids, and includes the bid received by the current bidder (e.g., a
candidate user of ranked network priority services) (block 602). The
example ranking may employ GSP-based modeling, in which N users compete
for M<N communication channels available in a cell tower. The example
GSP modeling allows each user (bidder) to bid an amount he/she is willing
to pay for such communication channels. A wireless service provider
and/or entity managing a cell tower may have a valuation vi, and may
receive bids bi, in which i has a set membership of 1 through N
users. An example ranking function g(i) may map users to channels. By
employing GSP auctioning, the price charged depends on the price bid by
the corresponding user or by the next best competitor for the allocated
resources.

[0052] The example function g(i) seeks to rank the users based on a
product of the bid bi and a policy specific measure ui. The
policy specific measure ui may be established by any type of search
auction policy such as Rank-by-Bids (RBB) (e.g., a highest bid policy),
or Rank-by-Revenue (RBR) (e.g., a highest profit policy). For example, a
policy specific measure modeled after the RR policy (ui,RR) may be
set to a value of unity in an effort to promote a degree of fairness. In
other examples, a policy specific measure modeled after the PF policy
(ui,PF) may be set to a value equal to the ratio of the user's
instantaneous throughput of data and their average throughput. In still
other examples, one or more congestion factors may be considered and/or
otherwise calculated to promote and/or inflate prices that will result in
a winning bid. For example, in the event a communication cell area is
burdened with a relatively large number of wireless device data access
request(s), and/or when a data rate and/or capacity of the cell tower
exceeds a threshold, a corresponding premium price and/or base price for
privileged services may be promoted via the one or more congestion
factors. In effect, the example congestion factors may inflate the base
price for services when one or more congestion metrics are relatively
high. Such policies may be implemented in any wireless technology
including, but not limited to, 2G, 3G, 4G, LTE, etc. Additionally, the
one or more policies may be implemented in one or more portions of a
wireless network, core network, radio access network, and/or combinations
thereof.

[0053] Some example methods, apparatus, systems and/or articles of
manufacture disclosed herein employ a proportional fair auction (PFauc)
scheduling policy as a variant of PF that includes one or more bids from
the users in its ranking. In particular, the example PFauc policy ranks
users based on the product of bids to the ratio of the user's
instantaneous throughput of data (SK) and their average throughput (
SK) in a manner consistent with example Equation 1.

b k S k _ S k . Equation 1 ##EQU00001##

Expected payment for allocation of a resource may be determined in a
manner consistent with example Equation 2.

[0054] In operation, the example auction engine 318 allows each bidder to
submit only one active bid and not separate bids for each instance of
channel allocation from the core network 113 and/or components thereof.
Further, processing a bid for each instance of channel allocation becomes
impractical in view of, for example, a 2 mSec period with which nodeB
devices perform allocation activities. In the illustrated example,
entered bids represent a user's request for channel resources and/or data
rate preferences. An actual calculated rank is based on the supplied bid
and the bid(s) received by other (competing) users. Resources are
allocated in a manner that favors a higher bid amount. On a periodic,
aperiodic, scheduled and/or manual basis, a current and/or otherwise
relatively recent bid amount value is published on a per-tier basis so
that candidate bidders can appreciate a general value for service
priority. A benefit of publishing per-tier price information is that
candidate bidders do not need to enter numerous bids that are below a
value that may result in receiving desired services. Such repeated bid
entries may frustrate users, only to result in one or more bid failures
without feedback as to a value that may result in success.

[0055] In the event a user's bid is unsuccessful at raising their
corresponding bandwidth tier status (block 604), then the example bid
interface manager 312 may prompt the user for a re-bid (block 606). If no
re-bid is selected (block 606), the example bandwidth allocation engine
316 associates the user with a bandwidth tier status in a manner
consistent with a default network priority service (block 608). As
described above, default network priority services may include, but are
not limited to round robin, maximum throughput, proportional fair, and/or
any combination thereof. On the other hand, if a re-bid is selected
(block 606), then the example process 520 returns to block 602.

[0056] In the event a user's bid is successful at raising their
corresponding bandwidth tier status (block 604), then the example
bandwidth allocation engine 316 allocates channelization resources for
the user and/or throttles and/or otherwise adjusts a data rate associated
with the user's wireless device via one or more elements of the core
network 113 (block 610) (e.g., data rate control via the corresponding
core resource manager 128a-c, data rate control via the nodeB, eNodeB,
RNC, SGSN, GGSN, etc.). Users that previously operated with an elevated
bandwidth tier status may be demoted to one or more lower bandwidth tier
status levels in the event congestion in the tower is relatively high
(and/or such users have been outbid). In the illustrated example, users
that no longer have competitive bid value(s) are demoted to one or more
lower tier status levels and resources allocated to their corresponding
wireless devices are deallocated (block 612). In some examples, a winning
bid entitles the corresponding wireless device to participate in the
bandwidth tier status for a predetermined period of time, regardless of
demand changes in the corresponding communication cell area. The example
congestion publisher 304 of the illustrated example communicates one or
more bandwidth tier status changes (e.g., up or down) via one or more
messages (block 614).

[0057] The program 700 of FIG. 7 illustrates example operation of the
example auction manager 130 of FIG. 1. The program of FIG. 7 begins at
block 702 where the subscriber interface 402 monitors for a subscriber
set-up and/or edit request. In the event no request to set-up a profile
and/or edit a profile occurs (block 702), then the example program 700
continues to monitor for such event(s). On the other hand, if a request
to set-up and/or edit a profile occurs (block 702), then the example
profile manager 404 facilitates profile editing and/or set-up (block
704). As described above, the example profile manager 404 may include a
web server to generate one or more forms to present to a candidate and/or
current subscriber. Forms may include, but are not limited to one or more
questions, drop-down selections and/or fields to tailor bidding
preferences, tailor default network priority tier level preferences
and/or tailor default preferences when visiting networks and/or towers
outside the control of a user's wireless service provider. For example, a
profile may be configured via the example profile manager 404 to maintain
the user's wireless device at a top tier (e.g., highest performing, most
responsive, fastest data throughput) when in or around the vicinity of
New York city, but to maintain the user's wireless device at a default
tier in any other geographic location.

[0058] Edited and/or generated profiles may be stored by the example
profile manager 404 in the example profile store 406 (block 706). In some
examples, and as described above, the example subscriber query engine may
access profile information associated with one or more subscribers via
the example network 114, the auction manager 130 and/or the HLR/VLR 310.
In other examples, the core resource interface 408 may forward profile
information to one or more core resource managers 128a-c and/or one or
more HLR/VLRs 310 within the example network 100 (block 708).

[0059] The program 800 of FIG. 8 illustrates example operation of the
example wireless device 200 of FIG. 2. The program of FIG. 8 begins at
block 802 where the wireless device 200 requests a metric associated with
the user's current tier status, bandwidth limit(s), data rate and/or a
congestion metric associated with the communication area. Requests for
such metrics may be prompted periodically, aperiodically, on a scheduled
basis and/or manually by an application installed and executing on the
example wireless device 200. As described above, the example metric(s)
may be shown on the wireless device 200 as an icon, a graphic,
alphanumeric text and/or any combination thereof. In some examples, a
congestion indicator may appear as a pie chart that fills up when one or
more threshold capacity limits of a cell tower are reached. In other
examples, the wireless device 200 may display a price indicator, such as
the example price indicator 210 of FIG. 2. The example wireless device
200 may also request and display a bandwidth tier status, such as the
example bandwidth tier indicator 212 and/or 216a-d of FIG. 2 (block 804).

[0060] In the event a bid is entered via the example wireless device 200
(block 806), then the bid value is sent to the example core resource
manager 128a-c associated with a data communication area that is within a
communication range of the wireless device 200 (block 808). On the other
hand, if a bid is not entered, then the example wireless device 200
and/or the bid update app 218 determines whether a tier status associated
with the wireless device 200 has decreased (block 810). If not, then the
example program 800 returns control to block 802 to determine a current
congestion metric on a periodic, aperiodic, scheduled and/or manual
basis. If the tier status associated with the wireless device 200 has
decreased (block 810), then the wireless device 200 and/or the bid update
app 218 determines whether the wireless device 200 includes associated
profile instructions (block 812). If so, then one or more bid
instructions may be performed in a manner consistent with the profile
designed and/or otherwise developed by the user associated with the
example wireless device 200 (block 814).

[0061] Profile instructions may be stored in a memory of the wireless
device 200 and/or may be wirelessly retrieved by accessing the subscriber
query engine 308 and/or the local subscriber store 314 of the core
resource manager 128a-c, and/or may be wirelessly retrieved by accessing
one or more HLR/VLRs 310 of the network 100. In the event there are no
profile instructions that correspond to the wireless device 200 and/or
the user of the wireless device 200, then the example wireless device 200
modifies one or more indicators, such as the example bandwidth tier
indicator 212, 214a-e and/or a price indicator 210 associated with a
price to receive different bandwidth tier services (block 816).
Modification of the bandwidth tier indicator(s) 212, 214a-e may include,
but is not limited to flashing, one or more animations and/or
audio/vibration cues.

[0062] FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an example processing platform P100
capable of executing the instructions of FIGS. 5-8 to implement the
example network 100, the example core resource manager 128a-c and the
example auction manager 130 of FIGS. 1-4. The processor platform P100 can
be, for example, a server, a personal computer, a tablet, a mobile phone,
or any other type of computing device.

[0063] The processor platform P100 of the instant example includes a
processor P105. For example, the processor P105 can be implemented by one
or more Intel® microprocessors. Of course, other processors from
other families are also appropriate.

[0064] The processor P105 is in communication with a main memory including
a volatile memory P115 and a non-volatile memory P120 via a bus P125. The
volatile memory P115 may be implemented by Synchronous Dynamic Random
Access Memory (SDRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS
Dynamic Random Access Memory (RDRAM) and/or any other type of random
access memory device. The non-volatile memory P120 may be implemented by
flash memory and/or any other desired type of memory device. Access to
the main memory P115, P120 is typically controlled by a memory
controller.

[0065] The processor platform P100 also includes an interface circuit
P130. The interface circuit P130 may be implemented by any type of past,
present or future interface standard, such as an Ethernet interface, a
universal serial bus (USB), and/or a PCI express interface.

[0066] One or more input devices P135 are connected to the interface
circuit P130. The input device(s) P135 permit a user to enter data and
commands into the processor P105. The input device(s) can be implemented
by, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen, a track-pad, a
trackball, isopoint and/or a voice recognition system.

[0067] One or more output devices P140 are also connected to the interface
circuit P130. The output devices P140 can be implemented, for example, by
display devices (e.g., a liquid crystal display, and/or a cathode ray
tube display (CRT)). The interface circuit P130, thus, typically includes
a graphics driver card.

[0068] The interface circuit P130 also includes a communication device,
such as a modem or network interface card to facilitate exchange of data
with external computers via a network (e.g., an Ethernet connection, a
digital subscriber line (DSL), a telephone line, coaxial cable, a
cellular telephone system, etc.).

[0070] The coded instructions of FIGS. 5-8 may be stored in the mass
storage device P150, in the volatile memory P110, in the non-volatile
memory P112, and/or on a removable storage medium such as a CD or DVD.

[0071] From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that disclosed example
methods, apparatus, systems and/or articles of manufacture allow wireless
devices to bid to participate in one or more levels of network access. In
the event that a particular geographic area (e.g., a cell tower) includes
a relatively high number of wireless devices, example methods, apparatus,
systems and/or articles of manufacture disclosed herein may provide a
degree of relief to the corresponding area of the network by allocating
channel resources that correspond to user valuation.

[0072] Although certain example methods, apparatus and articles of
manufacture have been described herein, the scope of coverage of this
patent is not limited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all
methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the
scope of the claims of this patent.